


Maybe this is how your story ends

by maria_caskett



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Erased memories, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson Friendship, Kind of angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-12 02:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10480536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maria_caskett/pseuds/maria_caskett
Summary: Framework AU. Jemma and Daisy are trying to wake their colleagues by restoring their memories. However, when the time comes for them all to leave the alternate reality, one of them gets trapped inside.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marMAca](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marMAca/gifts).



> I'll start by saying that english is not my first language (it's not even my second) so I apologize for any mistake in my writing. This is not my first Fitzsimmons fic, but it is the first one I write in english. I hope you like it and stay with me through this weird time-jumping fic. I promise I know where I'm going.  
> Happy Birthday marMAca, you know what they say... between friends and family... xDD I really hope YOU like it!!

It was a beautiful Monday morning, Fitz had to admit that; even Mondays could be nice in here.

Or at least they tried.

He was sipping a glass of scotch (it wasn’t hurting his real liver anyway) on the outside of the coffee shop she worked at. It was torture coming here every day, but he couldn’t help it.

She always smiled sympathetically at him when she took his order, and that smile helped him put up with the rest of his day. But there was nothing more than politeness in her eyes; and he’d seen so many things before in those same amber brown eyes…

Just nine days ago, he had seen in her eyes the biggest sorrow a person could imagine. And even that was better than her current cold courtesy.

 

* * *

 

_ 9 days ago _

\- I can’t do it anymore Daisy. Elena is pulling us out in three days and we’ve got next to nothing! – the british brunette (Fitz thought Daisy had called her Emma or something like that) said defeated.

She sounded like she wanted to cry, but looked like someone who had no tears left. He really wished he could help her; but everything they said sounded crazy. How could he be an Agent of Shield? Shield was a failure; he would never have joined such a mediocre organization, his father would have killed him.

However, the british girl (her name was Jemma, he remembered) was somehow familiar to him. She had a nice face and a lovely accent, and she sounded deadly smart; he knew he would remember a girl like that.

\- Jemma calm down, please. It’s been only an hour, it took almost five hours with Coulson, and a whole day with Mace. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy – answered her companion trying to comfort her.

\- It’s already been difficult enough to bring him here.

Oh, really?

These two ladies had hijacked his private flight to Scotland, knocked out his entire crew and kidnapped him in less than ten minutes; it didn’t seem difficult for them at the time. After that, they had left the airport and drove for about an hour, before reaching a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. Once he was nicely tied up, he’d done what he’d been told to do in such situations: offered them more money than you could spend in a lifetime.

Nevertheless, they just wanted him to hear a story. A ridiculous story about his “real life” as an average Shield engineer who owned nothing but battle scars and an occasional stutter.

Obviously, he had laughed.

And the English girl had punched him in the face, making him lose his balance and fall before he even saw it coming. Fitz had to acknowledge that she was a force to be reckoned with, even though her partner had seemed more dangerous in the first place. He was still on the floor, listening to the conversation, when he decided to chime in.

\- Well you could have asked me for a drink and avoid all this mess – Fitz said looking directly at Jemma. He knew he should be scared and nervous (having been kidnapped and all that), but there was something about these women that made him brave; he felt safe with them.

\- Well, he fancies you, that’s a good sign, right? – Daisy said smiling optimistically.

Jemma rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen. Daisy followed her friend and lowered her voice when she continued speaking:

\- C’mon Jemma, I’m just trying to cheer you up a bit. I know it’s harder this time because it’s him, but at least he’s here, and he isn’t trying to run, did you notice?

Jemma sighed and looked him straight in the eyes, looking for something he didn’t think he had. He understood then that he wasn’t just a friend in Jemma’s eyes, he was something more to her on this imaginary world the two friends kept talking about. He felt sorry he couldn’t return her feelings; he was striving to remember anything, but he really didn’t know her.

Maybe they could have been friends if she wasn’t kind of crazy, or even be something magnificent if they’d met under some other circumstances. Maybe the engineer in Daisy’s story fell madly in love with the fiery woman he couldn’t stop looking at, and he could see why he did so.

But without a doubt, he was not that man.

 

* * *

 

Present Day

\- Is everything all right, Sir? Do you need anything else? – Jemma’s voice asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

She looked good, happier than he’d seen her in the last months. And even though he knew she wasn’t real, he couldn’t help but feel heartbroken when she looked at him as if he was no one. Just a weird client she had to get rid of before he got drunk.

\- Can I ask you something? – he said, after a week wanting to ask, surprising both waitress-Jemma and himself.

\- I guess so – she answered, placing her notebook in her apron’s little front pocket and looking at him expectant.

Was it the sunlight, or was her hair slightly lighter in this reality? It suited her, she looked beautiful.  

\- How did you end up here? With this job, I mean.

\- Oh, are you interested in leaving your resume? We might need someone else this summer if… – she replied affably.

\- No – Fitz interrupted her – I meant you, your story.

\- My story? Are you a writer or something like that? – Jemma questioned him, with narrowed eyes.

\- Yes, exactly, that's it– Fitz said quickly, not wanting to elaborate more. If she was a bad liar, he wasn't much better. 

\- Well, I’m not that interesting. I came to the US when I was seventeen because I joined Shield’s Academy. But I wasn’t very happy there so I left it after a couple of years, and started working here with my parent's friend. And thank goodness I left, right? After everything that happened later with Shield… It was for the best. -  she finished smiling.

Fitz was shocked. "It was for the best"? Hydra winning and not having a chance to fight "was for the best"? Was serving coffee better than discovering a vaccine against an alien virus? He was an idiot. This girl had her face, but that was all. His best friend was out there in the real world, probably trying to bring him back, and this was just a stupid computer program.

He didn’t bother answering her. He just stood up, leaving a 20-dollar bill on the table, and walked away.

This time, for good.


	2. Chapter 2

Present day, in the Framework

_"Bloody hell. A thousand and six hundred dollars for a flight to Edinburgh?"_ Fitz thought indignant.

That was more expensive than real life flights! And he wasn’t even going to be really flying! Thank God his alter ego was ridiculously rich.

It was his eleventh day alone in the Framework, and he was truly tired of Boston. Well not real Boston (he loved real Boston), but this fake city where Agents of Hydra walked the streets smiling and drinking coffee; where his fake friends lived their fake lives happily and his fake best friend was a carefree waitress. 

He couldn’t stand it anymore; it was starting to depress him. Moreover, being in Boston, in a plane flying over the Atlantic Ocean or in the "land of lochs and legends" would not make a difference if Jemma found a way to bring him back.

“ _When, not if_ ” A voice that sounded a lot like Simmons’ scolded him.

Anyway, he was just travelling home in his mind, and there was nothing wrong with that. Moreover, he felt curious about the behavior of this amazingly expanded Framework. After all it was originally his making, and AIDA’s upgrades to it were more than fascinating.

Fitz picked a seat in first class (Jemma would have been scandalized if she could see how much he just spent) and bought the ticket. He’d be sniffing Scotland’s wet weather in 24 hours.

He turned off the computer and stretched his sore back. He was doing his best to stay hopeful, but it was becoming harder each day; he was starting to understand, that whatever was keeping him here was far worse than he thought.

Maybe there was no way back for him.

And if that was the case, he wanted to spend his days in a place that felt like home; in the place where Jemma dreamed their shared home would someday be. He closed his eyes and let himself remember his time with her, less than two weeks ago.

 

* * *

 

_ 11 Days ago, in the Framework _

After staring at him for what felt like an hour, Jemma finally looked away and took a deep breath.

\- I’m just so tired of watching his face and not seeing him – Jemma spoke so low he had to struggle to understand her.

What did she mean? Could this be true? Could he have lived an entire false life? No, it wasn’t right, he was as mad as them for even considering it. But… this girl sounded so broken. A sorrow like that surely couldn’t be faked, could it?

Daisy touched comfortingly her friend’s arm and a tear fell from the corner of Jemma’s eye. Not even a minute later, the quiet moment was interrupted by a phone ringing. Daisy looked at the device she had in her back pocket and rolled her eyes.

\- Ugh, excuse me. I have to deal with my loving not-dead evil boyfriend before he sends a troop of Hydra agents after me– she said with a face that Leo could only describe as a mix of boredom and loathing. She went to the entrance of the cabin, before turning and addressing her friend - Can I trust you to behave and not punch him again? – she asked smirking.

Jemma’s answer was rolling her eyes, but she had a tiny smile on her face when the other woman disappeared through the door. She looked at him, this time with a softer expression and went towards his spot on the floor.

\- I am sorry that I hit you, and I will apologize. But I’ll do it when you’re back – She said while helping him to stand on his feet again. It wasn’t an easy task with both his arms tied behind his back, but as he’d noticed before she was stronger than she looked.

\- Even if your story was real – he couldn’t believe he was saying that as if it was a possibility – I hope you don’t succeed in this “bringing me back” task.

\- Why would you say that? – she asked with such sadness in her voice he felt the inexplicable need to take back his arrogant words.

He shouldn’t feel bad for hurting his kidnapper, for God’s sake.

\- Well, because why on Earth should I want to exchange my life for your colleague’s? I am richer, more confidant and powerful. My life is perfect – he said proudly.

Well, at least everyone said he had a perfect life. No one needed to how much he longed for a couple of real friends every year on his lonely birthdays or regretted not having a closer relationship with his mother.

\- You are lying – Jemma said with confidence.

\- I am not – he replied. His father had taught him how to conceal a lie when he entered the business world at seventeen years old. He had next to no tells.

\- Your lying technique is much better, but you are tense and you raised your right brow, which you do when you are not telling me everything. You usually raise your left brow when you’re overconfident in your words – she said with ease, leaving him astonished.

No one knew that. It was impossible.

\- Have I convinced you yet? – she asked smirking slightly.

\- Not at all. You could be an obsessed psycho who has been studying me for years, and probably has one of those creepy rooms full of pictures of my life – he said walking closer to her unwittingly.

They were so close he could feel her warmth in his chest; and for some weird reason (that had nothing to do with her ridiculous story), that made him feel… calm.

She looked him in the eye and smiled wickedly.

\- You should stop watching Criminal Minds. You know it gives you nightmares.

And with that she turned around and walked back towards the kitchen. He felt his face burning with embarrassment. She had no way to… It could NOT be real.

 

* * *

 

Present Day, in the real world

\- It can’t be real. This can’t be happing to us, not again.

Jemma sat exhausted in the armchair she’d been occupying for the past 2 days, next to his partner’s bed.

\- You can double check the new results if you want Doctor Simmons, everything’s just…

\- I know Matthews, everything’s just the same – she said interrupting the woman offhandedly, not looking away from Fitz’s face.

Jemma heard the doctor leave the room quickly, mumbling an apology she didn’t deserve. However, Jemma couldn’t find it in herself to feel sorry for her rudeness, since all she could feel was fatigue.

Two days ago they were both leaving the Framework, and she had thought this awful story was about to end. She had daydreamed about a trip to Europe to visit their families and run away from the stress and the sorrow of these last weeks. She had thought about sending tradition to hell and proposing to the love of her life in some unconventional way.

But for some reason Fitz wasn’t waking up, and she was reliving her worst nightmare. Only this time was even worse, because she knew he was trapped in an awful alternate reality all by himself. Moreover, time was incredibly unstable inside the Framework, so these two days outside could have been two whole weeks for him, even a month.

She heard the door open and lifted her head just in time to see Daisy coming in. Jemma stood up and walked towards her friend.

\- So, did the last tests tell you something?

Simmons knew what she had to say: that as the first results had showed he had no brain damage, no signs of internal bleeding or inflammation in his nervous system, and definitely nothing wrong with him besides the obvious. But she couldn’t, because the only thing that came out of her mouth was a strangled whimper.

She felt Daisy’s arms around her in less than a second, and for the first time in two days she allowed herself to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me too much. I promise I only write happy endings.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing my best to finish this before the new episode airs. Just one more chapter and the epilogue!

Present day, in the Framework

Fitz had never been one of those guys who kept talking about their homeland and how much they missed it. He loved the United States, he’d felt welcome when he first moved and soon enough he had met Simmons, who at least didn’t use to make jokes about not understanding him. But he had to acknowledge that it felt nice to be in a place where the only things he heard were Scottish accents and some hints of Gaelic.

And with each passing hour it was harder to remember that neither the people that surrounded him nor the place were real. While on the plane, he had met a cute couple who were going to be honeymooning in Europe for a month, and an old English lady who was attending her nephew’s wedding in Glasgow and had 6 grandsons and 3 cats (she had showed him an awful lot of pictures of them all).

How could everything be fake? How could a computer program achieve something so tremendous? He hoped he didn’t have to stay here for long, because he was starting to realize that there was a great risk of confusing this place with reality.

The only thing that kept him grounded was the lack of his best friend’s warmth beside him. He wished he could tell her that he was holding on for her, that he couldn’t wait to be back in her arms like he had been less than two weeks ago.

 

* * *

 

_ 13 days ago, in the Framework _

\- Well, Ward just informed me that he’s already booked a table at Davio’s for this weekend, as it is our fourth anniversary – Daisy said, entering the cabin with the falsest smile he’d ever seen adorning her face - If for any reason we’re still here by then and he proposes, you two are paying for my therapy.

Jemma was in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea, while he was still standing in the living room staring at her with a grumpy face. When neither him nor Jemma answered her, Daisy continued speaking.

\- What’s going on here? Did you seriously punch him again? – she asked her friend.

\- Of course not – Jemma said calmly – He’s simply been programmed to be insufferable here. 

Fitz huffed indignant and turned around to look through a window. He was hungry and kidnapped, trapped in a cabin with two lunatics who believed in alternate realities and evil computers. He had every right to be insufferable; even if for some unknown reason he felt bad for having offended Jemma.

\- I keep wondering if the rest of our lives are going to be like this, always fighting to get back together. Because maybe one day one of us will not make it – he heard Jemma say.

\- I’m sure it won’t Simmons, these years have just been rough for all of us.

Jemma sounded like she’d gone to hell and back, and he felt so bad for her he could swear his heart was in fact aching. Was he as insane as they were? What was wrong with him? After a minute, Jemma continued talking.

\- Maybe he was right after all, and we are indeed cursed – she finished defeated.

Daisy was talking again, surely trying to encourage her friend, but Fitz wasn’t listening anymore, he couldn’t.

His mind was doing somersaults and he was getting nauseous. A wave of feelings had swallowed him after hearing Jemma’s words: jealousy, passion, anger, want, and then the purest feeling he’d ever felt. When he opened his eyes again, he could still feel the softness of Jemma’s lips on his own.

Bloody hell, this wasn’t real.

His father was an asshole, he was delighted to be a Shield engineer, and the English lady with the fiery attitude and broken voice was his best friend and the love of his life.

How could a computer program make him forget about all that? The memories returned to him with such sharpness his vision went black and a cold sweat covered his face; but he welcomed it. It meant he was free.

But possibly more important that all that: how could Jemma say that? After all the fun she had made of him because of that one slip up?

_“The universe doesn’t want anything Fitz!”_

_“Do you think our curse is affecting the DVD tonight?”_

_“Or… well, it could be magic”_

\- I can’t believe you just said that – Fitz said slightly breathless, turning around to see them and interrupting his friends’ conversation.

Jemma stopped talking the moment she heard his voice.

\- Excuse me? – she asked shocked, looking at him with eyes as cold as ice.

\- I just heard you use the word “cursed” in a serious way – he answered. He wasn’t sure about the way he should act; he didn’t know how to explain the situation to her, how to prove that he was back to being himself.

\- And what do you care? – she continued, challenging.

\- I’m pretty sure that the alternate reality where Jemma Simmons believes in magic is yet to be invented – Fitz said smiling doubtfully, unsure of her reaction.

Jemma looked like she’d been petrified; she wasn’t even blinking, it was uncanny. Daisy approached him, with a small smile full of hope, and looked him in the eye for a minute before cutting the ropes that had kept his arms tied. She was going to ask him something, probably to be sure he wasn’t tricking them, but before she could say anything Fitz heard someone else.

\- Are your memories back for real? – Jemma asked looking at him hopeful but still deadly serious.  

Daisy took a step back, watching them carefully while Jemma took a deep breath and got closer to him.

\- I think so – he answered quietly.

\- How do we know this is not a trick? You could be trying to mislead us to be untied and get away – she said a little bit reproachful.

\- I’m not tricking you, Jemma, I… - Fitz said walking towards her and lifting his arms with the intention of holding her hands. But the raw terror he saw in her face and the shock his move had provoked stopped him in his tracks. Was she afraid of him? She didn’t look afraid before, what was going on?

\- No! Please, don’t come any closer – she said on edge, taking a step back and lifting her arms as if she was preparing for a fight.

\- What? Jemma, I’m not going to hurt you, I couldn’t – he declared, trying to reassure her by lifting his arms over his shoulders.

However, he must have done something wrong because Jemma had closed her eyes shut as if the sight in front of her was unbearable, and was murmuring something to herself. Fitz looked at Daisy bewildered, but she appeared to be as lost as he was. It looked as if she was fearing he’d hurt her… again? Where did this come from? He’d never…

Oh.

Oh no.

He didn’t know how long he’d been in the Framework. An LMD of himself could have been living with them in the Playground for weeks, like May’s had been. Living with Jemma.

The realization felt like a kick to the stomach.

\- How long have I been here? – he asked quietly, looking at Daisy.

\- 2 days, maybe 3. We don’t know exactly how time works in here, but we know it goes faster.

Fitz was relieved to hear that. He remembered a whole life of Framework related lies, and he was expecting a hell of a lot more time. Nevertheless, two days had been enough for his LMD to hurt Jemma so deeply she couldn’t even look at him. He walked to her slowly, coughing quietly on purpose so that she’d know he was getting closer and he wouldn’t startle her. Once he was standing in front of her, he could feel her restless breathing and trembling, and his heart broke all over again.

Gently, he took her hand and brought it to his neck, where she could feel his frantic pulse.

And for a tiny second Fitz allowed himself to admire how perfectly created the program was. He could feel nothing out of the ordinary, there was no clue to know that he wasn’t actually touching Simmons.

They stood like that for minutes, and he saw Daisy nod slightly at him and disappearing through the next room’s door. When he felt his partner’s breaths slow; he started talking.

\- You were born on September 11th. Your birthday was the day before we started at the Academy, and I recall you telling everyone that you were seventeen, “but only since yesterday”. The next year we started earlier, on September 3rd, and you were sad to spend your birthday away from your parents; but we hung out together studying Chemical Kinetics, and somehow that cheered you up. I remember thinking you were quite an odd lass.

Jemma’s hand pressed down against his pulse point, and he felt her shoulders relax, so he kept going.

\- You hate english breakfasts, even though you’d rather eat a pound of beans and bacon than admit it in front of your grandmother Anne.

Now that was definitely a tiny smile.

\- When we go to sleep, your feet are always cold and you have these furry purple sleeping socks that somehow always end up at the bottom of the bed, while your cold feet end up pressed against my calves. I hate it when you do that by the way.

\- You do not – she said low, now openly smiling and finally looking at him.

He couldn’t stop himself any longer and wrapped her in a bone crushing hug. A hug that, thanks goodness she returned, throwing both her arms around his neck and resting her cheek against the spot where her hand had been seconds before, next to his pulse.

\- I don’t truly hate it – he whispered in her ear, sensing her smile in his skin.

\- I know you don’t – she answered, squeezing herself against his torso, her breath so close he felt goosebumps rising on his arms.

It was difficult to remember that they could still be miles apart in the real world while he had Jemma’s body pressed up against him, filling every fake bone he had with her warmth.

\- Are you okay? – he inquired worried, feeling her shiver and squeezing her waist.

\- I will be – she replied sure of herself.

He couldn’t admire her more.

\- Even if we’re cursed?

She lifted her head and looked at him with narrowed eyes and very fake annoyance.

\- What? You said it this time, don’t look at me like…

But she had closed efficiently his mouth kissing him like they hadn’t had the chance to in weeks. Jemma buried one of her hands in his hair, in order to pull him closer (as if it was possible), and Fitz realized that her right hand was now glued to his chest. He covered it with his own, and wished she would someday tell him about what she had endured while he was gone. He moaned unwittingly when her tongue pushed past his lips and let his hands abandon all demureness and wander down her body, earning an appreciative groan from his partner.

\- Weeeeeeell, before this gets more awkward for some of us – Daisy said entering the room slowly and making them pull away from each other at once. She was walking towards the cabin’s door with her right hand covering her eyes – And now that we’re all sure Fitz’s back, I think we should get going.

Jemma laughed loudly and grabbed his hand, walking with him toward the door Daisy had just left open. Before they were out, Fitz pulled on Simmons' hand to turn her around.

\- Thank you for bringing me back – he said making her smile grow bigger. She kissed him in the cheek and kept walking towards the car where Daisy was waiting for them smirking.

And for the for the first time in weeks (they had been some crazy weeks), he thought about the ring hidden in his sock’s drawer, and wished it could magically appear in his pocket right now.

 

* * *

 

Present day, in the real world

\- Don’t you think that’s a little bit drastic, Simmons? It’s been two days!

Jemma huffed, ignoring Coulson, and continued preparing the system.

\- Jemma, you need to…

\- Do you understand that your two peaceful days may have been a whole month for him? Alone with our disgusting alter egos?

\- The doctor just told me that his brain activity is perfect, that he can wake up any minute now, there’s no need to put yourself in danger too – he said worried.

She appreciated his concern, she really did, but he did not get it.

\- I don’t think you understand the situation. If “any minute now” becomes 9 days like the last time he needed to heal, he will have been there between 3 and 9 months on his own, living in a confusing world at risk of forgetting he’s living a lie. Or he could conclude he didn’t wake up because he’s already dead, because his body failed him, become depressed and throw himself off a roof. Or he could be baking cookies. I don’t care, whatever, I need to be with him – she said quickly and kind of hysterically – Sir.

Coulson looked at Daisy, who was getting the program ready to upload her conscience in her avatar’s body and Jemma saw her friend nod slightly. She felt herself relax.

\- You’ve got 10 days. After that we’re pulling you out in order to get you checked up and back to health, understood? – Jemma nodded serious – It won’t come to that, I’m sure. But I’m not taking any risks.

\- Understood Sir.

\- I’ll see you soon, Agent Simmons. – and with that, he left the room.

Jemma double checked that everything was right before turning to her friend. Daisy was already waiting for her at the edge of the bed.

\- Once you find him, you should leave the city. Too many Hydra agents there, you’ll be safer in a small town – she said all businesslike.

\- I know.

\- And I’m sure you’ll have some funny times while on vacation in this awful Wonderland but please, I need you both to come back – Daisy continued, looking at her with shiny eyes.

\- Hey, we’ll be back in no time, I’m sure – Jemma said while hugging her.

\- Good, because if you’re not I’ll come in myself and pay you a visit with my hellish Framework fiancé. I assure you, it won’t be pretty.

Jemma laughed quietly while disentangling herself from her friend’s embrace, and went to lie down on the bed.

\- Ugh, what a lovely evening that would be. I might bake some poisoned scones.

Daisy laughed too and went to the computer when she finished arranging all the hardware. A minute later she reappeared from behind the screen.

\- All set. Churro night this Sunday?

Jemma grinned.

\- It’s a date.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it! Chapter 4 before the airing of AOS tonight! I hope you enjoy it!

Present Day, in the Framework

\- Oh my God, I’m so going to kill him – Jemma murmured to herself.

She was standing in front of a news-stand, looking at the latest headline in some gossip magazine:

“Leopold Fitz, Boston’s richest bachelor, sells his company and runs away to a paradisiac island”.

What. The. Hell.

What was going on with him? Was he back to his arrogant Framework-self? And how on earth would she fly to a “paradisiac island”? She wasn’t very wealthy in here. She should have asked Daisy if she could fix that from outside… This was going to be much harder than she first thought.

\- Lady, you’ll have to buy it if you want to keep reading it.

She was so deep in thought, she hadn’t realized she had been more than five minutes with the magazine on her hands. She apologized to the stand’s owner and payed for it. Jemma looked around her and decided to walk to the nearest coffee shop to sit down and read the article thoughtfully.

\- It’s your free weekend Jemma, what are you doing here? – the aged waitress said in a somehow motherly way.

She had just approached Simmon’s table to take her order, and was looking at her with familiarity.

\- Excuse me?

\- You told me you had some exciting plans this weekend. Is your exciting plan having coffee at your work place?

Her work place.

Perfect. Just perfect.

\- Oh, yeah. That thing with the…. It got cancelled. I was just walking around and needed an urgent cup of coffee – she said quickly, smiling as warmly as she could at the kind woman.

\- And an urgent gossip magazine? – she said turning her head so that she could read the magazine’s cover – Oh I see, your billionaire friend. It would have been quite a catch huh?

\- You know him? – Jemma said excited, unable to bite her tongue. 

\- Are you sleeping still? He was here every day at 9 am, a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know what you told him to scare him away, but I saw the way he looked at you, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he came back someday – the woman said.

She winked at Jemma, and went back to the coffee shop singing softly.

Jemma was shocked. He had come every day to watch fake-her, or maybe even talk to her. And what could she have told him that made him run away? And to a paradisiac island, nothing less. She opened the magazine in front of her, and right away found the bit about Fitz; it was and interview to Holden Radcliffe. She wasn’t in the mood to throw up, so she jumped to the end, where Fitz’s name came up.

 

_“I: So, we heard that you are now the total owner of Leopold Fitz’s company?_

_H.R: Yes, that’s correct. I was so surprised when my colleague and dear friend came to me saying that he was leaving immediately. It was a shock for all of us.”_

 

Dear Friend. Ugh.

 

_“I: And do you have any idea how he could have reached this decision?_

_H.R: Well, we have kept it private, but he went through a traumatic experience a couple of weeks ago, an attempted abduction. Thankfully it wasn’t serious, but I think it somehow changed him.”_

 

\- Yeah, you can bet your precious company it changed him – Jemma murmured snorting, skipping a couple of pointless paragraphs.

 

_“I: Finally, Holden, our greedy readers want to know: where could we find our beloved Bachelor Number 3? He might be looking for a woman to comfort him._

_H.R: (laughs) His secretary told me something about Glasgow, but knowing Leo as well as I do, he was just trying to mislead her. I’m sure he’ll be in some Caribbean island enjoying the sun and some beautiful lady’s companionship”._

 

Jemma wished she could slap Radcliffe one more time before leaving the Framework. But at least he’d been useful for once and now she knew where to start her search.

Fitz was indeed in an island, but it was pretty far from the Caribbean.

 

4 days later, in the Framework

Fitz woke up at 9 am.

He had created a comfortable routine since he was in Kenmore: he woke up, had an amazing breakfast (courtesy of the lovely Mrs. McCallum, the old lady who ran the village’s hotel) and took a walk around the village or along the loch. On the other hand, he used to spend the afternoons in his room, reading fake articles and old news, to remind himself that he wasn’t home at all.

He had heard Kenmore was one of the most beautiful towns in Perthshire, but it was more than that. It had history walking the streets and magic running through the woods, he was falling in love with the place day after day.

And he couldn’t wait for the day Jemma could fall in love with it too.

He missed her deeply, and he knew time ran faster in the Framework but he had been in here almost 3 weeks since she left. Surely something was very wrong with him. And the worst part wasn’t his loneliness or his somber thoughts, it was knowing that Jemma was going through whatever was happening outside without him again.

Once he was dressed, he went down to the dining room, looking for the owner’s baked goods. There weren’t many tourists in the village, at least not these days, so he could have breakfast peacefully.

It had been a little weird the first days, when some locals had looked at him curiously, and even Mrs. McCallum had recognized him. It seemed his alter ego loved appearing in scandalous gossip magazines, so even the small village of Kenmore knew he was supposed to be in the Caribbean. He would have loved to punch Radcliffe in the face when he read the article.  

However, they were now accustomed to his presence, and some of them were starting to say hello to him when they saw him walking around. It made him feel less lonely.

When he finished having breakfast, he walked to the town’s bridge and admired the sights of the loch lost in thought.

 A couple of minutes later he heard footsteps approaching.

\- You, Leo Fitz, are not an easy man to find.

He felt something ignite in his chest at the sound of her voice, and he turned his head so quickly he almost felt dizzy.

\- Jemma? – he said excitedly.

\- Do you know how many villages there are on Perthshire? How was I supposed to find you? – she complained, even though the smile on her face betrayed her voice.

He crossed the distance between them in two strides and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling hers wrap around his shoulders. He kissed her neck softly, feeling her shiver, and took a deep breath for the first time in weeks. When they pulled away from each other, Jemma cleaned his cheeks with her thumbs, wiping away his traitorous tears. He grabbed her hands and kissed them. She looked tired and sleep deprived and in spite of that, she was a sight for sore eyes.

\- What are you doing here? – he asked confused.

\- Well, did you want me to stay at Boston serving coffee? – she said cheerfully.

\- No, of course not. I meant in here.

A shadow of doubt crossed Jemma’s face and her expression changed to a somber one, unleashing his most pessimistic thoughts.

He was dead.

Just like what Daisy told him had happened to Radcliffe, he had no body to return to. His conscience was trapped here until someone decided to destroy the program. And they should, it was too dangerous.

\- Are you here to say goodbye? – he asked her serious even though his voice was breaking.

\- What? No, I’m not. Fitz… – she said firmly, squeezing his hands.

But he let go of her hands and started walking, his hand combing through his hair as he tried to come to terms with his deduction.

\- I’m dead, right? They have let you in to say goodbye and then you’re…

Jemma stopped him in his tracks, holding his face with both her hands. She had a determined look on her face that made her look stunning.

\- Listen to me. You are not dead Fitz, am I clear? – she said slowly, pronouncing everything carefully as if he was a child. He looked her in the eye, searching for any sign of sorrow in them, but he came out empty handed. She wasn’t lying.

\- Okay, okay – Fitz said grabbing Jemma’s hands and placing them in his chest – Then tell me what’s going on.

She let go of him to leave her backpack on the floor. And after taking a deep breath, she did.

She told him how Shield had found the submarine they were in and had brought them all back to the safety, while still inside the Framework; how Daisy and she had gone out before them and helped the other agents bring them out of the program safely. And how he hadn’t woken up like the others did.

And now he’d been 2 to 3 days in a comma, waiting for his brain and body to be ready to wake up.

\- And I swear the last results were really good, the doctors expect you to wake up in just a couple of days – she finished her narration, with clear eyes and a hopeful expression.

Fitz was still taking on everything she just told him; and he had to admit that waking up with a minor sequel after a comma was slightly better than being dead and trapped here forever. But there was something he wasn’t getting.  

\- Well that’s great news I suppose. But you shouldn’t have risked yourself by entering the program again Jemma. When are they pulling you out?

\- The moment you wake up – she said right away.

\- But you don’t need to be hooked to that thing for that long! Now that I know...

\- It won’t be that long…

\- It doesn’t matter if it’s just a day, it’s an unnecessary risk, and you just came out after a whole week of…

\- Don’t you get it?– she exclaimed, shutting him up efficiently – I’m not strong enough to live in a world that doesn’t have you in it either – she said defeated, looking at him with shiny eyes.

Fitz gave up fighting with her the moment he heard those words; because this strong, brave and amazing woman loved him like he never thought he deserved. And with all honesty, he would have done the same for her in a heartbeat, his real body be damned.

He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her lips with everything he had, wishing he could spend his lifetime in this moment when he felt her return his kiss and her hands caress his back.

When they pulled away, flushed and exited, Fitz felt like the luckiest man on Earth.

\- You are the most remarkable and stubborn woman I’ve ever met.

Fitz saw Jemma’s cheeks redden even more and leaned down to rub her nose with his.

\- And I love you – he whispered against her lips.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly before replying.

\- I love you too.

Smiling like a fool, Fitz leaned down and picked up Jemma’s backpack, throwing it over his shoulder.

\- You are staying then? Because I happen to have a double bedroom all to myself – he said grinning.

\- Oh really? I’ll consider your offer after I’ve had a proper shower.

Then he grabbed her hand and started leading her towards the village. She surely needed a relaxing bath and a nap if she’d been travelling Scotland for a couple of days now.

\- So, how do you like Kenmore? Is it better than the other Perthshire villages you’ve visited looking for your Bachelor Number 3?

Jemma laughed loudly, and squeezed his hand.

 - You know what, I hate you – she said with a smile that felt warmer than the sun itself.

They still had a lot of things to talk about but in that moment, everything felt trivial, and Fitz wished that this could be their reality someday soon, and not just some program’s making.

But for the time being and as long as he felt Jemma’s hand against his own, everything was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I did promise an eventual happy ending! Now there's just the epilogue left, that I'll hopefully write this weekend! Thank you for your kudos and comments, each one of them made my day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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